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MSU drops soccer decision to LSU

Mississippi State soccer coach Neil Macdonald knows one or two players can't carry a team on their shoulder.
It's still hard to ignore the season freshman Elisabeth Sullivan is having for the Bulldogs at this point.
Sullivan scored her fifth goal of the season at the 22:02 mark of the first half, but it was only one of two goals of the match by the home team and MSU lost a 6-2 decision to the LSU Tigers at the MSU Soccer Field.
The Bulldogs remain winless in the Southeastern Conference at 0-8 and saw their overall record fall to 7-10.
"We can make the excuse that we have injuries, but the bottom line is there are players not fulfilling their roles and responsibilities on the field," Macdonald said. "That's how you lose six goals."
Sullivan appears to have embraced her role as the leading scorer on the squad as her five goals leads MSU and are tied for seventh most in the history of the school by a freshman.
When TopDDrawerSoccer.com released its list of the nation's top 100 freshmen, Sullivan came in at No. 29.
"She's done an exceptional job," Macdonald said. "She's got a great attitude and works extremely hard every day. She's had a great freshman year."
Sullivan said the team continues to work hard in practice to find the right ingredients to break through and find an SEC victory. The Bulldogs have been working on shadow drills in practice and Sullivan said it has helped in creating runs and producing scoring opportunities.
That didn't happen with only five shots on goal against LSU, which improved to 6-4 overall and 2-2-3 in the conference.
"Obviously, we've got to work on some things, but I think we're getting better," Sullivan said. "We're a team so if we lose, we all lose. We all stick together in all we do."
LSU scored first 3:51 into the match when Courtney Alexander shot the soccer ball through the defense from 6 yards out, then MSU tied the match on Sullivan's goal.
With only a minute left before halftime, the Tigers went back in front 2-1 on a sliding shot into the side of the net by Reyna Lubin.
LSU put the match away in the second half with goals by Lubin, Taryne Boudreau, Carlie Banks and Danielle Murphy.
The Bulldogs were able to score one more goal when Leanna Baldner got her first of the season with less than 3 minutes to play in the match.
The Tigers had 15 shots on goal during the match and MSU goalkeeper Skylar Rosson had nine saves.
The next match for the Bulldogs will be at home Thursday against Vanderbilt. The first kick is scheduled for 7 p.m.